Skill. Spin. Drama. Shane Warne was arguably cricket's biggest showman. In him pomp, the leg-spinner was often unplayable. His ball of the century - a giant leg-break - which drifted away to...Full profile

Skill. Spin. Drama. Shane Warne was arguably cricket's biggest showman. In him pomp, the leg-spinner was often unplayable. His ball of the century - a giant leg-break - which drifted away to leg and then ripped back to crash clunk into Mike Gatting's off-bail is part of the cricketing folklore. Richie Benaud, who was doing the television commentary, said: 'Gatting has absolutely no idea what has happened to him and he still doesn't know.'

Warne also possessed the googly, top spinner and flipper up his sleeve. Warnie will forever be remembered for his skill and charisma, which resuscitated the dying art of leg-spin. Interestingly, the psychological jabs with the opposition were as much a part of his game as his twirlers.

Shane Keith Warne, born in the bayside suburb of Melbourne on September 13, 1969 finished as the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket with 708 scalps, before another spin wizard in Muttiah Muralitharan surpassed him.

Warne's Test debut though was far from impressive. He picked up just a solitary wicket at the expense of 150 runs. He did a good job in the home series against West Indies, but it was not enough to cement his spot in the team.

An undeterred Warne returned to the academy, reduced weight and sharpened his skills under the tutelage of Terry Jenner. His hard-work was rewarded with a recall to the team for the tour to Sri Lanka in 1992. He made rapid strides in New Zealand and England, adding accuracy to his armoury. Even Martin Crowe, had no answers to the blonde leggie's bag of tricks. Overall, he took 71 wickets in 1993, then a record for a spin bowler in a calendar year. A year later, Warne claimed his maiden match haul of 10 wickets when he achieved the feat against South Africa at the SCG. Gradually, he established himself as a crucial cog in the Australian machinery.

Warne was also at it in coloured clothing. He collected 12 wickets in the 1996 World Cup, including a match winning 4-36 in the semi-final against West Indies. He ended his ODI career seven short of the 300-wickets mark.

Warne hogged the headlines off the field as well. Controversies and Shane Warne were simply inseparable. When Warne was playing for Hampshire in 2000, reports were rife that he had sent lewd text messages to an English nurse. A day before the start of the 2003 WC, the Aussie spinner tested positive for a drug test, and was slapped with a one-year ban. Meanwhile, allegations of extramarital affairs broke out in 2005 after which Warne and his wife, Simone split. Thereafter, he dated English actress, Elizabeth Hurley, before calling off the engagement.

He made a comeback to top-flight cricket in February 2004 and how. In a nip and tuck spin battle with Muralitharan, Warne took 26 wickets in 3 matches, including 5-fers in each innings of the first and second Tests. The following year in the Ashes series, Warne became the first bowler in the history of cricket to reach 600 Test wickets.

Warne was a handy batsman lower down the order. He holds the record for most Test runs scored without making a century. He was also a fine slip fielder to boot, pouching 125 catches.

He decided to hang up his wonderfully worn international boots on December 21, 2006 after helping Australia regain the Ashes. However, he continued to play T20 cricket until 2013. Warne's most notable T20 achievement was leading Rajasthan Royals to the title in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League. His aggressive captaincy and impeccable man management skills were striking, so much so that experts reckoned Warne was Australia's greatest captain that never was.

Even Warne counts not captaining Australia as one of his career regrets. He writes in his autobiography: 'I have given my heart and soul to Australian cricket and like to think I've earned the respect of the ACB. I have helped to put a few backsides on seats and made spin bowling more interesting. I have played in an aggressive, animated, emotional way which reflects the pride I take in representing my country. That should have counted for something, I would have thought.'

After retirement from all forms of competitive cricket, Warne made a seamless transition into the commentary box. He is widely revered for his acerbic views.